Gluten Free Pear Almond Galette

I don’t know about you, but I never know what to do with pears besides just eat them. I’m not much for canning and that leaves me scratching my head over our yearly abundance from our lone pear tree. These galettes are an absolutely perfect solution. Crispy crust with caramelized pears and almond paste make for a delightful dessert.

In a large sauté pan, combine sliced pears, 1/3 – 2/3 cup sugar (depending on the sweetness of the pears), and the scraped vanilla bean and pod. Cook over medium heat until the pears soften and their juices begin to run, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 2 Tbsp of sugar and the pectin. Add the pectin mixture to the pears and cook until thickened and bubbling, about 5 – 10 minutes. Remove the vanilla pod and set pears aside to cool.

To make the almond paste, combine almond meal and powdered sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times to thoroughly combine. Add the almond extract and egg white and process until a thick paste forms. Remove from the food processor and set aside.

To form galettes, roll prepared Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pie Crust between two sheets of parchment or heavy-duty plastic wrap to 1/8-inch thickness and cut eight 8 ‘-inch rounds (reroll the dough as necessary). Carefully transfer one round to a parchment lined baking sheet. Assemble each galette one-at-a-time on the baking sheet.Press 1 Tbsp (about 24g) of almond paste into a 3-inch circle in the center of one dough round. Fan out pear slices, about 1/4 cup, in a decorative pattern on top of the almond paste, leaving a 1-inch border of dough. Carefully fold the edges of the dough over the filling in small sections, overlapping the edges as you go. Leave about 2-inches of filling exposed in the center of the galette. Try not to move the formed galettes as they are very delicate.

When all galettes are assembled, transfer the baking sheet to the freezer for at least 1 hour.

To bake the galettes, preheat the oven to 400°F. Thoroughly whisk together 1 egg and 1 Tbsp water. Brush each frozen galette with eggwash and sprinkle with evaporated cane sugar or turbinado sugar.

Bake galettes until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling, 25 – 30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes then dust with powdered sugar to serve.